Sunday, February 3, 2008

Hillary is just an upgraded version of the same old story

I understand that America is caught up in the "first female president" frenzy--and as an advocate of humanism, full integration of women (and minorities) into the political realm is quite exciting.

Of course I would not deny the factual result of a Hillary victory--yes, she WOULD be the first female president.

But let's look at this situation for what it is: a modern version of the same story. That is to say, Hillary is adhering that age-old feminine script--accessing power through the male.

As an oppressed collective, female privilege has historically been mediated through the male, so while a female president is beyond impressive, let's get real--she's only an option because of Bill. She won the New York senatorial seat because of Bill. Her political clout is because of Bill.

I am not trying to say that without Bill, Hillary would never have entered politics. But I can bet money she would never have been a front-runner for the presidency.

So like I said--females accessing power through the male. Then again, I suppose it is better than remaining powerless. And I hope this can normalize the overall result of empowered women. Hopefully some day, we can skip the middle-man.